Chapter 2: First Plant, The Wishwood Tree!

The girl's name was Rosie, and she had heard of Alexander. His innate soul power was even stronger than hers had been, ranking first in the province for three consecutive years.

If he had awakened any combat talent, by now, he should have been recruited by a major company or the Awakeners Association.

Could it be...

An uneasy thought arose in her heart.

At that moment, a discordant voice interrupted.

"Well, isn't it a coincidence? Isn't this Farmer Alexander?"

Alexander frowned and turned to look.

It was Jack Bullock, swaggering over with an annoying gait, holding a sapling in his hand.

A classmate of his, Jack Bullock.

Jack slapped the sapling onto the counter, looked down at Alexander with disdain, and sneered,

"So, you really plan on farming after awakening as a farmer, huh? Not like me—I awakened a strength talent. I'm off to join the Ant Corporation's security team."

Rosie understood.

She looked at Alexander with a sympathetic gaze. A fellow sufferer, another pitiful soul.

She shook her head and began ringing up Alexander's purchases.

Seeing that neither of them paid him any attention, Jack forced himself back into the conversation.

He mocked,

"I remember you two were the top in our school in terms of innate soul power. And yet you've both been overtaken by someone you looked down on—a poor student like me. Does hard work even matter?"

Alexander didn't respond. He paid for his seeds and prepared to leave.

He was in a hurry to get back home and start planting.

Jack interpreted Alexander's silence as arrogance, as if he were trying to act superior.

A wave of anger rose in Jack's heart.

You've got a trash talent, and you still dare to look down on me?

He reached out to grab Alexander's clothes.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Alexander turned his head, a cold glint in his eyes that sent a chill down Jack's spine.

The instinct of an awakened one made Jack's hair stand on end. He subconsciously let go and stepped back two paces.

It wasn't until Alexander left that he regained his senses.

'How could I be afraid of such a useless guy? Could it be that Alexander's reputation from school still intimidated me, even as a combat talent awakener?'

A mix of shame and anger surged within him.

Seeing this, Rosie couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Jack, now even more enraged, glared at Rosie and cursed, "Fat pig, what are you laughing at?!"

With that, he slapped a hundred Solar onto Rosie's face and stormed off after Alexander.

...

Back at the small courtyard, Alexander quickly opened each packet of seeds in his hands.

He scattered them into the garden.

The garden was still smoldering with the residual flames left by the Heavenly Flame of Creation.

The seeds barely touched the soil before they were reduced to ashes.

After planting all the seeds, none sprouted.

Alexander sat down at the edge of the garden, disappointed.

A small chance of cultivating a rare plant.

The odds were just too low!

Cultivating the Heavenly Flame of Creation had been a fluke! In just half an hour, he had burned through hundreds of Solar (an universal currency).

Now out of money, he needed to find a way to earn more to buy seeds.

'This is way too costly!'

Just then, a familiar voice came from the top of the wall.

"Damn, puny Alex, your garden can catch fire?"

Alexander turned sharply, staring at the figure perched on the wall.

It was Jack, who had followed him all the way here.

His courtyard wall was quite high, and the neighbors on either side were old men in their seventies or eighties.

He had never expected anyone to climb up and peek over the wall.

Jack jumped down from the wall, holding his fruit tree seedling.

He squatted by the garden, staring at it curiously.

How could this place be on fire?

The intense heat made him too scared to touch anything.

A look of greed appeared in his eyes.

'This garden is clearly abnormal—definitely a treasure. I could sell this for a good price! Alexander watched him, his expression cold and indifferent.'

"How long have you been watching?"

Jack Bullock was still mesmerized by the sight of the garden producing flames and casually responded, 

"Just got here. Now, tell me, how does your garden catch fire?"

Alexander nodded, then picked up the fruit tree sapling Jack had placed on the ground and planted it in the garden.

Jack immediately panicked, 

"Hey, that's my sapling! Why are you throwing it into the fire?!"

Alexander glanced at Jack.

Why not use a dead man's possessions?

'You think you can see my secret and still live?'

However, the fruit tree sapling didn't burn to ashes.

Alexander inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

This kid's fruit tree sapling just happened to hit the extremely low probability.

The sapling rooted itself firmly in the garden, frantically absorbing the residual flames left by the Heavenly Flame of Creation.

Those flames transformed into the purest energy, causing the tree to grow rapidly before their eyes.

In no time, under Jack's astonished gaze, it grew into a towering tree over three meters tall!

The tree was twisted and bizarre, not a species from this world.

Its branches were covered in menacing thorns, and the leaves were a vibrant green.

Once the last remnants of the Heavenly Flame of Creation were absorbed, three strange fruits appeared on the branches.

Mysterious information formed in Alexander's mind.

[Wishwood Tree: S-Rank Super Item]

[A magical tree born from human wishes and desires, each fruit represents a certain human desire.]

The four strange fruits resembled a cross between pineapples and dragon fruits.

Alexander was utterly shocked, his mouth agape for a long time.

A Wishwood Tree!

Those four Super Fruits embodied human wishes and desires!

After the initial shock, an unparalleled excitement followed!

It's known that each Super Fruit can create an extraordinary individual, an awakener!

Alexander picked one of the Super Fruits.

[Bird-Bird Fruit: Falcon Form, C-Rank Super Item]

He frowned.

Why is it only C-Rank?

But then he realized.

After all, the [Bird-Bird Fruit Model: Falcon] wasn't particularly strong in the fiction he knew.

This wasn't something he would eat.

There were three reasons.

First, the rank of this Super Fruit was too low.

Although Super Fruits, like awakened talents, can become stronger through development, why bother when higher-ranked fruits are available?

He was sure to grow more fruits in the future.

Wouldn't any elemental fruit or be more appealing?

Second, each person can only awaken up to four talents.

Alexander already had his Farmer talent [One Inch Of Heaven] and the Heavenly Flame of Creation talent.

He planned to reserve his remaining two talents for the Flame of Eternity and the Chaos Flame.

Even if he cultivated a very powerful fruit, he would only use it as a last resort.

At this moment, Alexander sensed a familiar power within the Super Fruits.

Perhaps it was because the Wishwood Tree was nourished by the residual energy of the Heavenly Flame of Creation.

The Super Fruits even carried the aura of the Heavenly Flame of Creation!

As he pondered whether this might affect the Super Fruits, he heard Jack's annoying voice like the buzzing of a fly.

"Hey! You idiot, could this be your talent? If I'm not mistaken, this is a super item, right? Stick with me, and I can make you rich!"

Alexander looked up, meeting Jack's threatening gaze.

He couldn't help but laugh, "What if I don't plan on working with you?"

Jack laughed loudly, 

"Don't you understand the principle of 'an innocent man gets into trouble for carrying a treasure?'"

With that, he cracked his knuckles and walked toward Alexander with malicious intent, "Looks like you need to suffer a bit."

The next second, Jack's mouth dropped open in shock, and he froze in place.